| Liverpool takeover: NESV threaten to walk away from purchase if club are docked points New England Sports Ventures is threatening to walk away from £300m club purchase if the club go into administration. telegraph.co.uk |
Gerrard disappointed at losing armband • 'It has been a terrific experience. I have loved every minute'• Gerrard 'understands' why Rio Ferdinand is back as captainSteven Gerrard has admitted he is disappointed not to be leading England out at Wembley tonight after Rio Ferdinand was handed the captain's armband for the Euro 2012 qualifier with Montenegro.Gerrard received praise for the manner in which he handled the responsibility, both during the World Cup and particularly the three games since. But the Liverpool captain insists he knew he only had the job on a temporary basis until Ferdinand returned from his knee injury."I am disappointed I am not going to be leading the boys out," Gerrard said. "It has been a terrific experience. I have loved every minute. But I totally understood the situation from day one the reason why I became stand-in captain. Now Rio is back fit he gets the job."However, Gerrard did acknowledge he is probably producing his most consistent performances for his country. One of only a couple of England players to perform to a reasonable standard in South Africa, Gerrard arguably kept Capello in a job with his two goals to turn August's friendly with Hungary on its head.Gerrard then handled the fall-out from Wayne Rooney's personal problems with grace, while at the same time guiding England to impressive victories over Bulgaria and Switzerland in their opening two Group G games."Maybe it has been my best spell," the 30-year-old told ITV1. "The boost you get when the manager says you are leading the team out and you are wearing the armband is massive."It certainly helps, although I would like to think my performances have improved anyway. I am really happy with how I played since the manager came in."Steven GerrardEnglandEuro 2012guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Ivanschitz goal lifts Mainz to Bundesliga lead Substitute Andreas Ivanschitz scored two minutes after coming off the bench to give Mainz a 1-0 victory at Bayer Leverkusen and return his team ... rssfeeds.usatoday.com |
Inter Chief Stunned By Milito's Ballon d'Or Omission MILAN (Reuters) - Inter Milan president Massimo Moratti is stunned that striker Diego Milito was not included in the 23-man shortlist for the new FIFA Ballon d'Or. feeds.nytimes.com |
Nobby Stiles' 1966 World Cup medal expected to fetch £150,000 at auction • Stiles selling off items to raise money for family• Auction also features shirt worn in the final by Alan BallA 1966 World Cup winner's medal belonging to Nobby Stiles is among a collection of sports memorabilia being auctioned today.The medal is expected to fetch up to £150,000 when it goes under the hammer with other items from the player's collection in Edinburgh.Also being sold are the defender's England cap from the 1966 final, as well as his European Cup winner's medal from 1968 and the Manchester United shirt he wore during the 4-1 Wembley win against Benfica.The 68-year-old is likely to raise several hundred thousand pounds for his family from the auction.Stiles, who suffered a stroke in June, told the BBC: "It was always my intention to leave the entire collection to my children. But I have three sons – how do you fairly divide up this sort of collection between them? They have each selected some pieces they would like to keep for themselves."The sale also features the shirt worn by Stiles's England colleague the late Alan Ball during the 1966 final against West Germany. That is expected to fetch up to £30,000.Ball's own 1966 World Cup medal was auctioned for nearly £165,000 in 2005 – the most for an England player's World Cup medal.Convery Auctions is handling today's sale. Their director David Convery said interest had come from as far away as Australia, Chile and the Far East.Englandguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |